Breccia dikes from the Beaverhead Impact structure, southwest Montana

While shatter cones are generally accepted as indicators of meteorite impact, older petrologic features are not widely recognized in the geologic community. Breccia dikes are one such feature. They are found in many large impact structures occurring over an area at least as extensively as shatter cones. Breccia dikes will survive moderate degrees of metamorphism and tectonism, unlike many other microscopic features (shocked quartz grains, high-pressure polymorphs, etc.) and even large-scale features such as annular or bowl-shaped topographic features. Thus, they are important diagnostic criteria, especially for large, poorly preserved impact structures. The Beaverhead Impact structure is a recently discovered, deeply eroded impact structure in southwestern Montana. The remains of the structure are delineated by the occurrence of shatter cones, found in an area greater than 200 sq km, occurring within the Cabin thrust plate, part of the Cretaceous Sevier fold and thrust system. The distribution of shatter cones is further truncated by Tertiary normal faults. The present remains represent an allochthonous fragment of a larger structure

Operation of the computer model for direct atomic oxygen exposure of Earth satellites

One of the primary causes of material degradation in low Earth orbit (LEO) is exposure to atomic oxygen. When atomic oxygen molecules collide with an orbiting spacecraft, the relative velocity is 7 to 8 km/sec and the collision energy is 4 to 5 eV per atom. Under these conditions, atomic oxygen may initiate a number of chemical and physical reactions with exposed materials. These reactions contribute to material degradation, surface erosion, and contamination. Interpretation of these effects on materials and the design of space hardware to withstand on-orbit conditions requires quantitative knowledge of the atomic oxygen exposure environment. Atomic oxygen flux is a function of orbit altitude, the orientation of the orbit plan to the Sun, solar and geomagnetic activity, and the angle between exposed surfaces and the spacecraft heading. We have developed a computer model to predict the atomic oxygen exposure of spacecraft in low Earth orbit. The application of this computer model is discussed

A current perspective on cancer immune therapy: Step‑by‑step approach to constructing the magic bullet

Immunotherapy is the new trend in cancer treatment due to the selectivity, long lasting effects, and demonstrated improved overall survival and tolerance, when compared to patients treated with conventional chemotherapy. Despite these positive results, immunotherapy is still far from becoming the perfect magic bullet to fight cancer, largely due to the facts that immunotherapy is not effective in all patients nor in all cancer types. How and when will immunotherapy overcome these hurdles? In this review we take a step back to walk side by side with the pioneers of immunotherapy in order to understand what steps need to be taken today to make immunotherapy effective across all cancers. While early scientists, such as Coley, elicited an unselective but effective response against cancer, the search for selectivity pushed immunotherapy to the side in favor of drugs focused on targeting cancer cells. Fortunately, the modern era would revive the importance of the immune system in battling cancer by releasing the brakes or checkpoints (anti-CTLA-4 and anti-PD-1/PD-L1) that have been holding the immune system at bay. However, there are still many hurdles to overcome before immunotherapy becomes a universal cancer therapy. For example, we discuss how the redundant and complex nature of the immune system can impede tumor elimination by teeter tottering between different polarization states: one eliciting anti-cancer effects while the other promoting cancer growth and invasion. In addition, we highlight the incapacity of the immune system to choose between a fight or repair action with respect to tumor growth. Finally we combine these concepts to present a new way to think about the immune system and immune tolerance, by introducing two new metaphors, the “push the accelerator” and “repair the car” metaphors, to explain the current limitations associated with cancer immunotherapyThis work was supported by NIH R00 CA154605 and Louisiana Board of Regents LEQSF(2016-17)-RD-C-14 (H.L.M.), a Rámon y Cajal Merit Award from the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Spain (B.S.Jr) and a Clinic and Laboratory Integration Program (CLIP) grant from the Cancer Research Institute, NY (B.S.Jr)

Cytological Aspects of Pleural, Peritoneal and Pericardial Fluids From Patients With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/74778/1/j.1365-2303.1992.tb00014.x.pd

Resting spores of the freshwater diatoms Acanthoceras and Urosolenia

Diatom resting spores are a widespread, but sometimes misconstrued component of siliceous microfossil assemblages. We illustrate and discuss resting spore morphology found in populations of Acanthoceras and Urosolenia , two widely distributed freshwater genera. Taxonomic status of these genera and the potential paleolimnologic interpretation of resting spores are discussed.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/43094/1/10933_2004_Article_BF00680035.pd

Hablamos Juntos (Together We Speak): Interpreters, Provider Communication, and Satisfaction with Care

The Hablamos Juntos—Together We Speak (HJ)—national demonstration project targeted the improvement of language access for Spanish-speaking Latinos in areas with rapidly growing Latino populations. The objective of HJ was to improve doctor-patient communication by increasing access to and quality of interpreter services for Spanish-speaking patients. To investigate how access to interpreters for adult Spanish-speaking Latinos is associated with ratings of doctor/office staff communication and satisfaction with care. Cross-sectional cohort study. A total of 1,590 Spanish-speaking Latino adults from eight sites across the United States who participated in the outpatient HJ evaluation. We analyzed two multi-item measures of doctor communication (4 items) and office staff helpfulness (2 items), and one global item of satisfaction with care by interpreter use. We performed regression analyses to control for patient sociodemographic characteristics, survey year, and clustering at the site of care. Ninety-five percent of participants were born outside the US, 81% were females, and survey response rates ranged from 45% to 85% across sites. In this cohort of Spanish-speaking patients, those who needed and always used interpreters reported better experiences with care than their counterparts who needed but had interpreters unavailable. Patients who always used an interpreter had better adjusted ratings of doctor communication [effect size (ES = 0.51)], office staff helpfulness (ES = 0.37), and satisfaction with care (ES = 0.37) than patients who needed but did not always use an interpreter. Patients who needed and always used interpreters also reported better experiences with care in all three domains measured [doctor communication (ES = 0.30), office staff helpfulness (ES = 0.21), and satisfaction with care (ES = 0.23)] than patients who did not need interpreters. Among adult Spanish-speaking Latinos, interpreter use is independently associated with higher satisfaction with doctor communication, office staff helpfulness, and ambulatory care. Increased attention to the need for effective interpreter services is warranted in areas with rapidly growing Spanish-speaking populations

Mesozoic Alpine facies deposition as a result of past latitudinal plate motion

The fragmentation of Pangaea as a consequence of the opening of the Atlantic Ocean is documented in the Alpine-Mediterranean region by the onset of widespread pelagic sedimentation1. Shallow-water sediments were replaced by mainly pelagic limestones in the Early Jurassic period, radiolarian cherts in the Middle-Late Jurassic period, and again pelagic limestones in the Late Jurassic-Cretaceous period. During initial extension, basin subsidence below the carbonate compensation depth (CCD) is thought to have triggered the transition from Early Jurassic limestones to Middle-Late Jurassic radiolarites. It has been proposed that the transition from radiolarites to limestones in the Late Jurassic period was due to an increase in calcareous nannoplankton abundance when the CCD was depressed below the ocean floor. But in modern oceans, sediments below the CCD are not necessarily radiolaritic. Here we present palaeomagnetic samples from the Jurassic-Cretaceous pelagic succession exposed in the Lombardian basin, Italy. On the basis of an analysis of our palaeolatitudinal data in a broader palaeogeographic context, we propose an alternative explanation for the above facies tripartition. We suggest that the Lombardian basin drifted initially towards, and subsequently away from, a near-equatorial upwelling zone of high biosiliceous productivity. Our tectonic model for the genesis of radiolarites adds an essential horizontal plate motion component to explanations involving only vertical variations of CCD relative to the ocean floor. It may explain the deposition of radiolarites throughout the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern region during the Jurassic period